Procedure for voting in an all-postal
election pilot
9. In an all-postal election each registered elector
automatically receives a ballot paper through the post. Ballot
papers are sent out as soon as possible after nominations have
closed and the ballot papers have been printed. This is usually
about 15 days before the poll. As with traditional elections the
ballot paper, ballot paper envelope and declaration of identity
(if in use) are numbered identically (or barcoded for increased
security) so that the vote and the voter may be tallied up. The
Returning Officer's procedure upon receipt of the ballot envelope
is the same as that for a traditional election, with the addition,
in the June 2004 pilots, that incoming declarations of identity
will be scanned (typically on a daily basis) to provide 'polling
progress information' for political parties on who has voted.
10. Pilot schemes have enabled Returning Officers
to experiment with different security measures. Some pilots, for
example, continued to use a traditional declaration of identity,
while others used a simpler 'security statement', which did not
require a witness to verify the voter's signature. Some dispensed
with any form of declaration. Many pilots made provision for delivery
points; places where people could either return their postal ballots
in person, or fill them out with help from suitably qualified
persons. The number and opening hours of these points varied between
different pilots.
11. In voting by post the voter takes responsibility
for ensuring that they have voted secretly; in contrast to a conventional
election where a voter is provided with a place within a polling
station to mark their paper in private. Thus although more convenient,
postal voting does place increased responsibility upon the voter.
